Port Blair. Indian Naval Landing Craft Utility (INLCU) L58, the eighth and last ship of the Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Mark IV Class, was commissioned into the Indian Navy at Port Blair on March 18.
Lieutenant General Manoj Pande, AVSM, VSM, the Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command was the Chief Guest and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE) Chairman & Managing Director Rear Admiral Vipin Kumar Saxena, IN (Retd) was present for the event. Commander Krishan K Yadav read the Commissioning Warrant as the first Commanding Officer of the ship.
Commissioning of the last of the eight LCU MK IV ships, indigenously designed and built by M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE), Kolkata is yet another manifestation of the country’s indigenous design and ship building capability. It has also amply demonstrated the commitment of the Indian Shipbuilding Industry to strengthen the Maritime security of the Nation.
The LCU Mk IV ships are amphibious vessels with a designated primary role of transporting and deploying Main Battle Tanks, Armoured Vehicles, troops and equipment from ship to shore. The ship is manned by a motivated team of five officers and 50 sailors and is capable of carrying 160 troops in addition.
It is fitted with state-of-art equipment and advanced systems, like Integrated Bridge System (IBS) and Integrated Platform Management System (IMPS). Based at Port Blair, under the operational command of the Naval Component Commander (Andaman & Nicobar Command); these ships can be deployed for variety of roles such as beaching operations, search and rescue, disaster relief operations, supply and replenishment and evacuation from distant islands.
The induction of these ships will contribute to the nation’s maritime security needs and is in consonance with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.
